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Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

Before the season had even started for the Indiana Pacers, and long before the bad news came out about Danny Granger’s knee costing him at least three months, the expectations for third-year swingman Paul George were already pretty astronomical.

Considered to be one of the most promising young players in the entire league, George has been presented a perfect opportunity to break out in Granger’s absence. However, early in the season, the reviews have been mixed. George has scored in double digits in each of the team’s first seven games, but he’s also had some atrocious shooting nights to get there.

“It’s frustrating,” George said, “I’m not knocking down open shots. I’m getting good looks, and it’s just frustrating because I know I can shoot the ball well. But it’s something that I’m working on, just letting go and having fun and playing.”

With all the pressure on him to succeed, however, it’s has proven challenging to just kick back and be easy about things. George knows that the best players in the league take on those expectations, and that’s exactly what he is trying to do.

“Of course I want that pressure,” George said. “A lot of guys my age, I don’t t think they would approach the game the way that I would. At the end of the day, I do want to be an All-Star. I do want to be the best player I can be. But most of all, I just want to win. Whether that’s scoring 15 points and 10-12 rebounds or 20-plus points a night, at the end of the day, with the team that I am surrounded by, I just want to win.”

So far, though, wins have been hard to come by for the Pacers, who are only 3-4 through their first seven games. George admitted that his own struggles have played a part in that, but mostly he just intimated that players weren’t clicking with each other yet, nor has the team figured out how to play without Granger.

“We’re just finding the chemistry and right units to click together, and that’s going to come with time,” George said. “A lot of new faces. It’s just a little different. We weren’t expecting Danny to go down and be out as early as he is.”

But again, Granger’s absence is supposed to mean opportunity for George. With the team’s previous top scoring option down, now is the time for the protégé to become the master.

“When it’s all said and done, that’s the role I want to fill,” George said. “I’ve got time to grow into that, and there are a lot of great options around me, so it’s been easy for me to come into my own because I got players that can help me and mentor me.”

It will be easier to remain patient if the team starts figuring out how to win some more games, which, at the end of the day, really is what matters for a team many hoped would be the second-best in the East this year.

“We are set up to be a winning program, and it’s kind of frustrating that it’s not happening, more so than me being a breakout player,’ George said. “But if it takes me being a breakout player, I am going to work and rise to that level.”

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

“Of course I want that pressure,” George said. “A lot of guys my age, I don’t t think they would approach the game the way that I would. At the end of the day, I do want to be an All-Star. I do want to be the best player I can be. But most of all, I just want to win. Whether that’s scoring 15 points and 10-12 rebounds or 20-plus points a night, at the end of the day, with the team that I am surrounded by, I just want to win.”

Personally, I like hearing this part. It may seem like it's just the right thing to say or whatever. But, that's more than just a fast, one-liner. I believe the guy means it.

The most important stat, IMO, is PER. More than anything else, PER shows how effective a player is an how efficient his production is.

Paul's PER so far is 13.26. That's below the league average and below his average from last year. He's been in a slump due to poor shooting but especially because of all the turnovers he made during the first 6 games.

The good news is that he had a good all around game on Saturday against the Wizards and he could be starting to make the adjustment. Having a few extra days off for practice should help as well. If he could just stop turning the ball over and attack the basket more (without turning the ball over). Also he needs to learn how to score out of the pick and roll and from post-up situations.

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Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

PER is skewed towards big men because so much emphasis is placed on shooting percentage. (Something that isn't particularly amazing in Paul's game right now.) It's a stat that sounds good but is a little overused to judge players.

I think people also need to remember that PG is way ahead of schedule for where the Pacers thought he would be in 3 years.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

PER is skewed towards big men because so much emphasis is placed on shooting percentage. (Something that isn't particularly amazing in Paul's game right now.) It's a stat that sounds good but is a little overused to judge players.

I think people also need to remember that PG is way ahead of schedule for where the Pacers thought he would be in 3 years.

"Those guys with their bow-ties that have never played the game."

Hollinger's PER is...like any other stat, a semi-useful indicator of performance. However, like Sookie worte, it is skewed towards shooting percentages. Also, usage is reasonably important, and it doesn't adequately measure things like "hockey assists", steals/blocks/rebounds. I've always thought it was too skewed towards scoring.

Paul has really started some nice plays this season that he wouldn't get any statistical credit for. Driving, kicking, then having the extra pass made for an open three is something that the driver never gets credit for.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

When you look at 8th in scoring, then at 15th & 21st in the field goal %'s, it only tells me he is shooting more than some of the other SF's. Perhaps he also gets more free throw attempts than others?

He actually gets to the FT line very rarely, 1.7 times a game, which is the biggest hole in his game right now if you ask me. He needs to start atttacking the hoop, not only more often, but smarter. He is a great open court dunker, no doubt, but he is not a good finisher in traffic. He needs to take it to the hole with more purpose, sometimes I feel like he doesn't really know what to do once he gets in the lane unless he has an open hoop. He needs to have better control to be able to avoid charges, but to draw contact inside the cylinder. He also has to finish with more authority in the half court, for a guy that athletic it seems like he gets his shot blocked at the rim way too often. Taking it strong will not only help with his inside scoring, but it will also greatly help in getting his FT attempts up...

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

I bet it does work out around top 7, because maybe someone is ahead of him in scoring but maybe 34th in rebounds or something of the sort. He is top 21 in all of those categories. That is how he works to top 7.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

Ok so before anybody comes to tell us that Paul George has been a disappointment let me tell you that Paul George stats wise is at least one of the top 7 small forwards in the whole NBA.

He's a SG, regardless of what you want to call him. Being X doesn't necessarily mean you aren't Y. Him being above average doesn't necessarily mean he isn't disappointing in important areas.

And for as much as I like reading these quotes from PG (he and Lance have been my favorite players on the team for a few yrs now), I've heard it all before. Weeks ago, months ago, this offseason, etc. He talks a great talk, I'd just like him to understand that it wouldn't kill him to take more shots, especially inside where he can earn free throws.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

I think we have to all look at PG in possibly a different light. He may never turn into the dominant scorer we despreatley need, but his all around game cant be measured statistically. While watching the Raptors/Pacers game last night I saw Demar DeRosen abuse Lance a few times in a row, then Vogel switched and put PG on DeRosen, and PG shut him down. PG is an above average defender and rebounder , whose shooting will get better, we all want him to be like Reggie but he is much more like a young Derrick McKey

If we appreciate PG for what it is and look beyond the statistics, we will have more good things to say about him than bad

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Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

Show that meanstreak. Be aggressive. This team needs you, right now. Step up and assert yourself. Walk up to Vogel and tell him to put the team on your shoulders. Start being a leader in the locker room. Stop talking the talk and start walking the walk, Paul.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

Paul just hasn't been shooting well. Yeah in the first few games he had some turnover problems, but that can happen at the beginning of the season. Those have been cut back to just 2 in each of the last few games. He has been one of the best defenders at his position, and has done better getting through screens. His rebounding is great. His dribbling is much improved from last year, not great but good. His assists are even up. He is averaging 2 ppg more than last year, while shooting extremely poorly. If he was shooting half decently he would be scoring the way people want him to.

Out of everyone only Lance is shooting even close to as well as they did last year, and he has far surpassed his shooting last year. Even Hansbrough is shooting worse (as hard as that is to believe).

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

How do you figure that? I think he is exactly where they figured he would be in 3 years.

And that's not a bad thing, he is only 22 years old, I think he is like 3 years away to hit his prime, again to me the problem is not Paul George, the problem here is that the Pacers didn't do a good job in getting an scorer or shooters.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

I agree on needing a shooter, and I said the same thing last year. Although I think if they knew Lance was going to improve so much they most likely would hove gone after a shooter instead of Green. Not having someone you can trust to make every wide open shot they have, even if they are below average at everything else, is an important role this team has been missing off the bench.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

He actually gets to the FT line very rarely, 1.7 times a game, which is the biggest hole in his game right now if you ask me. He needs to start atttacking the hoop, not only more often, but smarter. He is a great open court dunker, no doubt, but he is not a good finisher in traffic. He needs to take it to the hole with more purpose, sometimes I feel like he doesn't really know what to do once he gets in the lane unless he has an open hoop. He needs to have better control to be able to avoid charges, but to draw contact inside the cylinder. He also has to finish with more authority in the half court, for a guy that athletic it seems like he gets his shot blocked at the rim way too often. Taking it strong will not only help with his inside scoring, but it will also greatly help in getting his FT attempts up...

i think perhaps the biggest reason he doesn't get to the line more often is that he has been spending too much time chucking up 3's. if you take a look at every game since his 1st game this season, just under half his shots are from downtown. that is simply too many. hard to get to the line when nearly half of your shorts are from long distance.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

I agree on needing a shooter, and I said the same thing last year. Although I think if they knew Lance was going to improve so much they most likely would hove gone after a shooter instead of Green. Not having someone you can trust to make every wide open shot they have, even if they are below average at everything else, is an important role this team has been missing off the bench.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

i think perhaps the biggest reason he doesn't get to the line more often is that he has been spending too much time chucking up 3's. if you take a look at every game since his 1st game this season, just under half his shots are from downtown. that is simply too many. hard to get to the line when nearly half of your shorts are from long distance.

I thought people wanted Paul George to replace Danny, jacking up 3's seems about right to me.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

i think perhaps the biggest reason he doesn't get to the line more often is that he has been spending too much time chucking up 3's. if you take a look at every game since his 1st game this season, just under half his shots are from downtown. that is simply too many. hard to get to the line when nearly half of your shorts are from long distance.

I honestly believe all the charges his rookie year scarred him. Ever since he's been really indecisive going to the rim. I wish he'd just start charging into people again until he learns how to avoid them because right now he so soft and lost when he gets in the paint. He's my favorite player, and kills me to see him play so scared.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

My problem with PG is that he hasn't mastered anything yet offensively. You can't count on him doing any one thing well. Rip Hamilton mastered fifteen foot jump shots. Leave Ray Allen open for three, goodnight. Tracey McGrady attacking the basket good luck stopping that. PG doesn't do any one thing consistently well he's scared to dunk on people and he has the talent to, it's frustrating watching him.

He should get ten points a game just from slashing to the basket alone.

Re: Breakout Coming for Indy’s Paul George

So, if Paul could go into a game hitting his shot, then they will keep feeding him. But, if he misses a few shots and turns the ball over, then he is going to clam up. This, this is a coaching issue. He, they can't have it both ways. A shooter shoots and a scorer scores, so feed Paul the freakin rock 40 times and attempt 20 times, have the bigs get position and rebound. Get on with it.

To be great, one has to attempt to be first!

.

Frank Vogel says "Killer instinct, start strong, build a lead and then step on their throats."